Magnetic badminton racket and magnetic shuttlecock

ABSTRACT

The invention discloses a magnetic badminton racket comprising: a handle, a shaft, a head frame including an outer surface and an inner surface and a plurality of gut strings crisscrossed within the inner surface. The head frame is provided with a magnet mounting section centered on its top, and several sockets are provided into the outer surface, spaced from each other and vertical to the outer surface. Several small neodymium magnets are fixed within the sockets, with their top surfaces exposed and flush with the outer surface. Each magnet is in the shape of a cylinder, cuboid, truncated cone or truncated quadrangular pyramid, which possesses strong magnetic attraction, is not subject to detaching and would not affect the aesthetic appearance of the racket. The invention also discloses a shuttlecock suitable for use together with the racket, to enable to pick up shuttlecock conveniently by mean of magnetic attraction therebetween.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The application claims the priority benefits of Chinese PatentApplication No.201410116593.8 filed on Mar. 26, 2014, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to sporting goods for ballgames, and particularly to a kind of magnetic badminton racket and akind of magnetic shuttlecock.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Badminton is a kind of favorite ball game for most people. Sportinggoods for badminton are very simple and this kind of ball game does notneed a large scale sports field. However, since a cork of a shuttlecockis not elastic enough to enable the shuttlecock to bounce after fallingdown to the floor, the players need to bend down frequently to pick upthe shuttlecock, which may make them feel tired. Thus, it is desirableto develop a kind of sporting goods for badminton which could make iteasy to pick up shuttlecocks.

A Chinese patent No. CN2562810Y discloses a magnetic shuttlecock andbadminton racket. As shown in FIG. 4, the magnetic badminton racket 40comprises a head frame 44, gut strings 45 crisscrossed within the headframe 44 and a handle 46 connected to the head frame 44. The head frame44 is provided with magnets 47, which could be mounted on the surface ofhead frame 44 or be inserted into the head frame 44. As shown in FIG. 5,the magnetic shuttlecock 50 included an elastic cork 51 and feathers 52attached to the cork 51. An upper part of the elastic cork 51 isprovided with a ring 53 made of iron sheet. When playing badminton, theplayers could pick up the shuttlecock by virtue of attraction betweenthe magnets on the badminton racket and the iron ring on theshuttlecock.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional magnetic badminton racket40, the magnets 47 are provided at a top part of an outer ring of thehead frame 44 and are exposed therefrom, which is not aesthetic.Furthermore, the magnets 47 would always be hit by the shuttlecock whenthe racket is waved, the risk of damage or detaching of magnets 47 fromhead frame 44 would be very high. In addition, if the magnets 47 aremounted within the head frame 44, the strength of the magneticattraction would be weakened due to the interference of the head frame,and then would be not sufficient to attract the iron ring of theshuttlecock. Thus, it is convenient for the players to pick upshuttlecocks easily.

Furthermore, it is well known that the thickness of the iron sheet forthe iron ring 53 should be as thin as possible, to avoid increasing theweight of the shuttlecock too much and enable the shuttlecock to fly inthe air. However, the iron sheet is subject to rusting, and the strengthof iron sheet is weaker than that of steel sheet for many times, whichmake the iron sheet with such a thin thickness to be subject todeformation or even damage by virtue of pressure of only one finger. Inaddition, since mounted on the surface of the elastic cork 51, the ironring 53 always contacts the head frame 44 and gut strings 45 during thewave of the racket, which make it easy to be deformed or even destroyed.Besides, since the iron ring 53 is mounted on the surface of the elasticcork 51, the resilience of the cork 51 would be affected, and thus theperformance of the badminton racket would be deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the presentinvention is to provide a novel magnetic badminton racket with a simplestructure, which possesses strong magnetic attraction, and magnets inthe racket are not subject to detaching from the racket and would notaffect the aesthetic appearance of the racket.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel magneticshuttlecock, which is suitable for use together with the magneticbadminton racket of the present invention. An alloy steel ring of thepresent shuttlecock has relative strong strength, and is not subject todeformation and damage. Besides, the resilience of the elastic corkwould not be affected. Furthermore, during the wave of the badmintonracket, the chance of contact between the badminton racket and the alloysteel ring would be lowered dramatically. Thus, the performance of themagnetic shuttlecocks of the present invention is just similar to thatof traditional shuttlecocks.

According to the present invention, a magnetic badminton racket isprovided which may comprise: a handle; a shaft connected to the handle;a head frame connected to the shaft and including an outer surface andan inner surface; and a plurality of gut strings crisscrossed within theinner surface of the head frame; in which the head frame is providedwith a magnet mounting section centered on a top of the head frame, anda plurality of sockets are provided into the outer surface of the headframe within the magnet mounting section and are spaced from each otherand vertical to the outer surface of the head frame; a plurality ofsmall neodymium magnets are fixed within the sockets respectively, and atop surface of each small neodymium magnet is exposed and flush with theouter surface of the head frame.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned magnetic badminton racket, the lengthof the magnet mounting section is ¼-⅓ of the peripheral of the headframe.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned magnetic badminton racket, each ofthe small neodymium magnets is in the shape of a cylinder with adiameter of 4 mm and a height of 5 mm, and has a shape matching withthat of a corresponding socket to enable to be tightly fitted to thecorresponding socket.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned magnetic badminton racket, each ofthe small neodymium magnets is in the shape of a cuboid with a crosssection in a size of 4 mm×4 mm and a height of 5 mm, and has a shapematching with that of a corresponding socket to enable to be tightlyfitted to the corresponding socket.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned magnetic badminton racket, each ofthe small neodymium magnets is in the shape of a truncated cone, and hasa top surface with a diameter of 4 mm, a bottom surface with a diameterof 6 mm and a height of 5 mm; and each of small neodymium magnets has ashape matching with that of a corresponding socket to enable to betightly fitted to the corresponding socket.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned magnetic badminton racket, each ofthe small neodymium magnets is in the shape of a truncated quadrangularpyramid, and has a top surface with a size of 4 mm×4 mm, a bottomsurface with a size of 6 mm×6 mm and a height of 5 mm; and each of thesmall neodymium magnets has a shape matching with that of acorresponding socket to enable to be tightly fitted to the correspondingsocket.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned magnetic badminton racket, the headframe and the shaft are made of carbon fiber, resin, nano-resin,plastics, wood, iron, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy or other suitablealloys.

Preferably, in the above-mentioned magnetic badminton racket, the handleis made of carbon fiber, wood or suitable alloys.

According to the present invention, a shuttlecock is provided which maycomprise: an elastic cork consisted of a bottom in the shape of asemi-sphere and a cylinder; a body connected to the elastic cork andcomprising a plurality of feathers mounted on a top of the cylinder ofthe elastic cork; in which an alloy steel ring fixedly covers the top ofthe cylinder of the elastic cork near the feathers.

The above-mentioned shuttlecock is suitable for use together with theabove-mentioned magnetic badminton racket, in which the small neodymiummagnets in the head frame of the magnetic badminton racket attract thealloy steel ring of the shuttlecock by virtue of magnetic attraction.

According to the present invention, the magnetic badminton racket has asimple structure and possesses strong magnetic attraction. The magnetsin the racket are not subject to detaching from the racket and would notaffect the aesthetic appearance of the racket. The alloy steel ring ofthe present shuttlecock has relative strong strength, and is not subjectto deformation and damage. Besides, the resilience of the elastic corkwould not be affected. Furthermore, during the wave of the badmintonracket, the chance of contact between the badminton racket and the alloysteel ring would be lowered dramatically. Thus, the performance of themagnetic shuttlecocks of the present invention is just similar to thatof traditional shuttlecocks. The magnets mounted in the head frame couldattract the alloy steel ring of the shuttlecock by virtue of magneticattraction, to enable users to pick up shuttlecock conveniently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various embodiments of the magnetic badminton racket and themagnetic shuttlecock according to the present invention will bedescribed in details with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of structure of a magnetic badminton racketaccording the present invention;

FIG. 2 a is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a magnetmounting section A shown in FIG. 1, illustrating structure of a firstembodiment of the magnetic badminton racket according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 b is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a magnetmounting section A shown in FIG. 1, illustrating structure of a secondembodiment of the magnetic badminton racket according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 c is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a magnetmounting section A shown in FIG. 1, illustrating structure of a thirdembodiment of the magnetic badminton racket according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 d is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a magnetmounting section A shown in FIG. 1, illustrating structure of a fourthembodiment of the magnetic badminton racket according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a magneticshuttlecock according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a magnetic shuttlecock in the prior art;and

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a magnetic shuttlecock in theprior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The structures of various embodiments of the magnetic badminton racketand magnetic shuttlecock of the present invention will be described asexamples with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it shouldbe understood that the embodiments should not be construed as limitationto the protective scope of the present invention. In the accompanyingdrawings, the same component is illustrated by the same referencenumeral.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic structure of the magnetic badmintonracket of the present invention. Each of FIGS. 2 a-2 d schematicallyillustrates a cross-sectional structure of a magnet mounting section ineach embodiment of the present magnetic badminton racket.

In the first embodiment of the magnetic badminton racket of the presentinvention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a, the magnetic badminton racket 1comprises a handle 3, a shaft 5 connected to the handle 3, a head frame7 connected to the shaft 5 and including an outer surface 8 and an innersurface 9, and a plurality of gut strings 10 crisscrossed within theinner surface 9 (the gut strings are omitted in FIG. 2 a). The headframe 7 is provided with a magnet mounting section A centered on a topof the head frame, and the length of the magnet mounting section A isabout ¼-⅓ of the peripheral of the head frame 7. Within the magnetmounting section A, a plurality of sockets 13 a are provided into theouter surface 8, which are spaced from each other and vertical to theouter surface 8. A small neodymium magnet 15 a is fixed within eachsocket 13 a, and a top surface 16 a of each small neodymium magnet 15 ais exposed and flush with the outer surface 8. Each small neodymiummagnet 15 a is in the shape of a cylinder, with a diameter of 4 mm and aheight of 5 mm. Each small neodymium magnet 15 a has a shape matchingwith that of a corresponding socket 13 a, to enable to be tightly fittedto the corresponding socket 13 a.

FIGS. 2 b-2 d respectively illustrate structures of the second to fourthembodiments of the present magnetic badminton racket. The differences ofeach of the second to fourth embodiments from the first embodiment areonly in the structure of the sockets within the magnet mounting sectionand the structure of the small neodymium magnets. In this connection,except for the differences, the detailed description of the second tofourth embodiments will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2 b, in the second embodiment of the present magneticbadminton racket, each of the small neodymium magnets 15 b is in theshape of a cuboid and has a top surface 16 b. Each small neodymiummagnet has a cross section with a size of 4 mm×4 mm and a height of 5mm. Each small neodymium magnet 15 b has a shape matching with that of acorresponding socket 13 b, to enable to be tightly fitted to thecorresponding socket 13 b.

As shown in FIG. 2 c, in the third embodiment of the present magneticbadminton racket, each of the small neodymium magnets 15 c is in theshape of a truncated cone, and has a top surface 16 c with a diameter of4 mm, a bottom surface with a diameter of 6 mm and a height of 5 mm.Each small neodymium magnet 15 c has a shape matching with that of acorresponding socket 13 c, to enable to be tightly fitted to thecorresponding socket 13 c.

As shown in FIG. 2 d, in the fourth embodiment of the present magneticbadminton racket, each of the small neodymium magnets 15 d is in theshape of a truncated quadrangular pyramid and has a top surface 16 dwith a size of 4 mm×4 mm, a bottom surface with a size of 6 mm×6 mm anda height of 5 mm. Each small neodymium magnet 15 d has a shape matchingwith that of a corresponding socket 13 d, to enable to be tightly fittedto the corresponding socket 13 d.

The head frame 7 and the shaft 5 could be made of carbon fiber, resin,nano-resin, plastics, wood, iron, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy orother suitable alloys. The handle 3 could be made of carbon fiber, woodor suitable alloys. Each of the small neodymium magnets 15 a-15 d of thepresent invention has a weight less than 1 gram, which belongs to a kindof light-weight permanent magnet with strong magnetic attraction. Thesmall neodymium magnets 15 a-15 d are inserted into the outer surface 8within the magnet mounting section A in a semi-open manner, in whichonly the top surface 16 a-16 d therefore are exposed, while the restparts thereof are all embedded in the head frame 7. On one hand thesmall neodymium magnets would not affect the aesthetic appearance of thepresent magnetic badminton racket and are not subject to detaching fromthe head frame, and on the other hand the strength of the magneticattraction of the small neodymium magnets would not be weakened. Theperformance of the present magnetic badminton racket 1 is almost thesame as that of the traditional badminton racket.

FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of an embodiment of a magneticshuttlecock according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, thepresent magnetic shuttlecock 21 includes an elastic cork 23 which isconsisted of a bottom 24 in the shape of a semi-sphere and a cylinder25. A body 27 of the shuttlecock 21 is connected to the elastic cork 23,and comprises a plurality of (such as 16) feathers 28 mounted on a top30 of the cylinder 25 of the elastic cork 23. The shuttlecock 21 isfurther provided with an alloy steel ring 32 which fixedly covers thetop 30 of the cylinder 25 of the elastic cork 23 near the feathers 28.The alloy steel ring 32 of the present invention has relative strongstrength, and is not subject to deformation and damage. It is moreimportant that the resilience of the elastic cork 23 would not beaffected since the position of the alloy steel ring 32 is near to thefeather 28. Furthermore, during the wave of the badminton racket 1, thechance of contact between the badminton racket 1 and the alloy steelring 32 would be lowered dramatically. The performance of the magneticshuttlecocks 21 of the present invention is just similar to that oftraditional shuttlecocks. The magnetic shuttlecocks 21 of the presentinvention are suitable for use together with the magnetic badmintonrackets 1 of the present invention. The magnets mounted in the headframe 7 could attract the alloy steel ring 32 of the shuttlecock 21 byvirtue of magnetic attraction, to enable users to pick up shuttlecock 21conveniently.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilledin the art should understand that various changes and modifications canbe made to the embodiments without departing the principles and spiritsof the present invention and they still fall into the scope of claimsand the equivalent thereof.

1. A magnetic badminton racket comprising: a handle; a shaft connected to the handle; a head frame connected to the shaft and including an outer surface and an inner surface; and a plurality of gut strings crisscrossed within the inner surface of the head frame; wherein the head frame is provided with a magnet mounting section centered on a top of the head frame, and a plurality of sockets are provided into the outer surface of the head frame within the magnet mounting section and are spaced from each other and vertical to the outer surface of the head frame; wherein a plurality of small neodymium magnets are fixed within the sockets respectively, and a top surface of each small neodymium magnet is exposed and flush with the outer surface of the head frame.
 2. The magnetic badminton racket of claim 1, wherein the length of the magnet mounting section is ¼-⅓ of the peripheral of the head frame.
 3. The magnetic badminton racket of claim 1, wherein each of the small neodymium magnets is in the shape of a cylinder with a diameter of 4 mm and a height of 5 mm, and has a shape matching with that of a corresponding socket to enable to be tightly fitted to the corresponding socket.
 4. The magnetic badminton racket of claim 1, wherein each of the small neodymium magnets is in the shape of a cuboid with a cross section in a size of 4 mm×4 mm and a height of 5 mm, and has a shape matching with that of a corresponding socket to enable to be tightly fitted to the corresponding socket.
 5. The magnetic badminton racket of claim 1, wherein each of the small neodymium magnets is in the shape of a truncated cone, and has a top surface with a diameter of 4 mm, a bottom surface with a diameter of 6 mm and a height of 5 mm; and each of small neodymium magnets has a shape matching with that of a corresponding socket to enable to be tightly fitted to the corresponding socket.
 6. The magnetic badminton racket of claim 1, wherein each of the small neodymium magnets is in the shape of a truncated quadrangular pyramid, and has a top surface with a size of 4 mm×4 mm, a bottom surface with a size of 6 mm×6 mm and a height of 5 mm; and each of the small neodymium magnets has a shape matching with that of a corresponding socket to enable to be tightly fitted to the corresponding socket.
 7. The magnetic badminton racket of claim 1, wherein the head frame and the shaft are made of carbon fiber, resin, nano-resin, plastics, wood, iron, aluminum alloy, titanium alloy or other suitable alloys.
 8. The magnetic badminton racket of claim 1, wherein the handle is made of carbon fiber, wood or suitable alloys.
 9. A shuttlecock comprising: an elastic cork consisted of a bottom in the shape of a semi-sphere and a cylinder; a body connected to the elastic cork and comprising a plurality of feathers mounted on a top of the cylinder of the elastic cork; wherein an alloy steel ring fixedly covers the top of the cylinder of the elastic cork near the feathers.
 10. The shuttlecock of claim 9, wherein the shuttlecock is suitable for use together with a magnetic badminton racket having small neodymium magnets in the head frame of the magnetic badminton racket attracted to the alloy steel ring of the shuttlecock by virtue of magnetic attraction. 